Uncertain future for Evelyn Gardens

The long-term future of student accommodation in the Evelyn Gardens area is currently under review, with the high cost of necessary refurbishment likely to mean the closure of halls such as Fisher. The uncertainty comes as Imperial is reviewing all areas of its accommodation provision including the wardening system and an investigation by Facilities Management into state of repair of all halls. The Director of Commercial Services, Jane Neary, stressed that the College is committed to providing accommodation for 1st year students and that the halls would remain open for the foreseeable future, until they could be replaced.

The halls at Evelyn Gardens are considered to be in need of a radical refurbishment, since August 127 ceilings in Fisher and other halls have required repair. Mrs. Neary said, “The problem [with the halls at Evelyn Gardens] is the condition of the buildings. These buildings have had no financial investment for as long as anyone can remember. At some stage we have to make economic decisions about whether [they] are viable.”

Professor Martin Head, the Warden at Fisher Hall, said: “The hall is […] in need of proper refurbishment. The other halls [at Evelyn Gardens] are all in comparatively much better condition.” However, Jane Neary denied that Fisher Hall was sub-standard saying: “It’s not that [the hall isn’t] good enough, it’s completely legal, they’re all completely legal. […] We’ve done all the urgent work.”

In July, Imperial and the Wellcome Trust submitted a joint planning application for Fisher Hall. The application sets out plans to convert the hall, which has 156 beds, into 28 housing units for elderly care and says “the need for student accommodation [at Evelyn Gardens] has been reduced as new halls of residence have been created […] at Princes Gardens”. A single standard room at Fisher is currently either £95 or £108 per week. The cheapest single room at Eastside – one of the new halls referred to in the statement – is £168 per week, rising to £227 per week for a “deluxe” single room. Mrs. Neary dismissed concerns that this questioned the College’s commitment to affordable housing saying, “Planning application speak and what we do is completely different”, also reassuring that “we’re going to do what’s right for students.”

Professor Head said that the College’s actions were understandable: “Obviously I would prefer for Fisher to stay open as a hall, as the students are a great bunch of people to look after, but I also understand that the lease on the building is finite so eventually it will have to change its function.” He added “I personally am in favour of retaining ‘budget’ accommodation such as Fisher, to maintain the range of choices currently available to prospective [Imperial] students.”

Union President Alex Kendall questioned the motives behind the planning application: “I think that the College does take affordability seriously, but this decision does seem to be driven by cost-cutting. Fisher Hall is in urgent need of refurbishment and Imperial are less likely to lose money if it is sold on rather than retained as student accommodation.”

However, John Anderson, the Chief Executive Officer of the College Fund, said that the expiry of the leasehold on Fisher Hall meant that Imperial had to consider its options. The leasehold expires in 38 years, after which it reverts back to the freeholders, the Wellcome Trust. He explained that Imperial needs to consider the value of the property as the expiry date grows closer. “The College is going to be looking at an 8-figure sum to refurbish Fisher Hall to achieve the standard of other halls. To my mind, it simply doesn’t make sense to invest that much money into a property for which the lease expires in 38 years.”

The idea of converting Fisher Hall into property for elderly care use is, according to Mr Anderson, a much wiser choice as the property would generate a considerable return. He added that this would mean that the College would find itself in a much better position when the leasehold expires, both financially and in relation to the freeholder.

The College Fund and Commercial Services are currently searching for new sites for accommodation that would allow them to convert the Evelyn Gardens halls. Mrs. Neary said that she was looking at sites on the outer edge of zone two which would allow the Accommodation service to provide similar prices to those currently charged in halls at Evelyn Gardens. She said that there would be a move away from shared accommodation but emphasised that it was important to have student input on the matter: “Going forward, I don’t think students want twin or triple rooms. The reasons they take them is because the [price] is right.” She argued that ultimately, the question to ask students is: “Would you prefer to live on the outskirts of zone two and come in or would you like to share a room on campus? “

Mr Anderson said that the College would not be seeking a solution through private halls of residence and added that it would not be easy to find an alternative site, meaning that it is unlikely that any changes will happen in the near future: “In an ideal world, it would be great to find a site similar to Princes Gardens, in terms of atmosphere and community, where we could provide lower cost accommodation on a significant scale and move away from the current usage of the buildings such as those at Evelyn Gardens […] Unfortunately they rarely come forward in West London.” Unless they do, he said, it is unlikely that much will happen to change the status quo.